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Science Library Abstract
Published: 2005
SYNOPSIS

The mercury used as a vaccine preservative is far more neurotoxic than the mercury found in fish.

TITLE

Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal

CITATION

Thomas M. Burbacher, Danny D. Shen, Noelle Liberato, Kimberly S. Grant, Elsa Cernichiari, and Thomas Clarkson. Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 113, Number 8, August 2005.

SUMMARY

The mercury used in vaccines (and still in the flu vaccine given to pregnant women) is far more toxic than the mercury found in fish, because it stays in the brain at much higher levels. “Data from the present study support the prediction that, although little accumulation of Hg in the blood occurs over time with repeated vaccinations, accumulation of Hg in the brain of infants will occur. Thus, conclusion regarding the safety of thimerosal drawn from blood Hg clearance data in human infants receiving vaccines may not be valid, given the significantly slower half-life of Hg in the brain as observed in the infant macaques. There was a much higher proportion of inorganic Hg in the brain of thimerosal monkeys than in the brains of MeHg monkeys (up to 71% vs. 10%). Absolute inorganic Hg concentrations in the brains of the thimerosal-exposed monkeys were approximately twice that of the MeHg monkeys.”

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